Western Star 6900XD
The Western Star 6900XD is a large 6x6 offroad truck debuted in the American Wilds DLC for MudRunner. Description The 6900XD is the most capable model in Western Star's lineup, designed for severe duty applications like mining, oil field jobs, and logging, which is its primary purpose in American Wilds. It serves a very unique and important role in the American Wilds maps: the main workhorse truck. Its size, role, and parameters put it in the same performance bracket as the base game's C-class trucks. However, the similarity to the other trucks in the class ends there, as it has its own weaknesses and strengths compared to its peers. The player should find its strong points and use them to the fullest to realize the vehicle's maximum potential. Advantages * The only AWD-capable semi-truck in American Wilds. * Capable of a high top speed, and maintaining adequate handling even at those speeds, as well as decent gradability, even with heavy loads, and good towing capabilities, thanks to its high engine output. Not to mention the vehicle is quite durable for its build and the speed it is capable of reaching. * Capable of self-loading Long Logs. This advantage is only shared with the Freightliner FLD120. * Capable of self-loading a 7-log-point load in one go. This advantage is only shared with the C-6317 and K-9000 Forwarder. * Always spawn in both American Wilds maps, basically available for free. Its performance is very good for said maps, as it can fill almost any role, making it invaluable and indispensable. * Very easy unlock requirement for a 3-balance-point vehicle. * Shares many in-game parameters as the C-260 in the base game - being a large truck with a very powerful engine. Disadvantages * Despite being a 6x6 vehicle, its tires are not too suitable for mudding or rock-crawling due to lower grip on those surfaces, and they are the truck's most significant weakness. They are only heavy-duty on/off-road tires - hence only offer mediocre grip - unlike those of its counterparts, which are massive full-on mud tires with aggressive tread patterns result in very good traction. Add in its heavy weight and its very front-heavy weight distribution without addons doesn't help the truck's performance either. It also doesn't fare too well in water, once again due to its tires. Its small tires and low ground clearance make it more difficult for the truck to climb over obstacles (e.g. tree stumps). Combine those with its low approaching and departure angle, wheelbase, and length means it can get stuck over obstacles easily. * Due to the aforementioned tire disadvantage, this truck requires the player to be considerate and use the throttle properly, instead of just pedal-to-the-metal, although this approach is never recommended for any vehicle unless serious power is needed under good traction conditions. If the player can keep the throttle at a suitable input, it still has surprisingly good performance, and can be just as capable as its counterparts. In many situations, the player wouldn't even need to toggle AWD or differential lock to help the truck, provided enough traction is available for the rear tires. The Log Carriage with Crane addon works best in this role due to its nature, and also allows the truck to self-load and carry Short Logs. * High fuel consumption, especially with AWD enabled and climbing uphill with heavy loads, where its fuel consumption will skyrocket. * Narrow selection of addons, but this is the same problem for most American semi-trucks in the game. * No Spare Wheel addon and non-existent self-repair or self-refueling capabilities without trailers in tow. * Large, difficult to maneuver, especially in tight places, and can still roll over somewhat easily, despite the lower height. How to obtain The truck only requires 1 progression point to unlock, this means that the truck can be used not long after starting the game, since it only requires 1 map to be finished to unlock the vehicle for use in any map. In singleplayer, it always spawn in both maps of the American Wilds DLC - with a random addon (for most of the time it is either a Log Carriage or a Trailer Hitch), or no addons at all - at random locations. The player simply has to discover the truck or reveal watchpoints to unlock it for use in that map. Addons * Flatbed Semi-Trailer - Advanced function: Lower The Ramp. * Fuel Semi-Trailer - Fuel capacity: 4200 liters. * Fuel Trailer - Fuel capacity: 1800 liters. * Loader - Advanced functions: Crane Grab, Turn Anchors, Rotate Grappler, Crane. * Log Carriage - Carrying load: Short Logs (3 pts). * Log Carriage with Crane - Advanced functions: Crane Grab, Turn Anchors, Rotate Grappler, Crane. Carrying load: Short Logs (3 pts). * Log Cart Hitch - Is required to install Long Log Cart. Carrying load: Long Logs (6 pts). * Long Log Cart - Carrying load: Long Logs (6 pts). * Medium Log Trailer - Carrying load: Medium Logs (4 pts). * Trailer Hitch - Is required to install Flatbed Semi-Trailer, Fuel Semi-Trailer, Utility Semi-Trailer. * Utility Semi-Trailer - Carries 1200 repair points. Carries 4 garage points. * Utility Trailer - Carries 600 repair points. Carries 2 garage points. Trivia * Before the Old Timers update, the Western Star 6900XD could install the Fuel Cistern and Utility Attachment addons, but the patch later removed such capabilities. The Freightliner FLD120 was also affected by the patch. * The front axle on the in-game 6900XD is not a proper driven axle. It is simply an un-driven axle with a modeled differential casing, and it can be revealed by fully turning the front wheels left or right, or climbing over a high-enough obstacle and set the camera angle low. This might hint at the original purpose of the truck not being a full-fledge 6x6 offroad truck but a 6x4 on-road truck, but was later changed. It could also simply be developer oversight.